Damascus Kitchen Knife Set of 5, Burl Wood with Leather Knife Roll

Five knives cover a whole kitchen between them, a chef knife for the board, a bread knife for crust, a cleaver, a carving knife and a paring knife. All five are hand forged Damascus with stabilized burl wood set in dark resin, and they live in a hand tooled leather roll that ties shut. It is the largest set in this batch, bought when a kitchen is fitted out at once.

Specification

What is in the set

The steel

Every blade is Damascus, pattern welded over a high carbon core, so hard steel runs down the middle and layers sit either side of it. The etch is done after grinding, so the ladder pattern runs the whole blade and carries on across the bevel instead of stopping where the grind starts. Ladder is straight bands running across the blade like rungs. It is carbon steel underneath, so it takes a keen edge and comes back on a stone quickly, and it darkens with use and rusts if put away wet.

The handles

Burl is why people pick this set. A burl is a growth where the grain stops running straight and goes in every direction, so the figure swirls rather than stripes. Burl is also soft and full of voids, so it is stabilized and set in dark resin, which fills them and holds it together. Amber and brown swirls sit in resin near black. Brass pins run into the steel, the tang is full, and every knife has the same handle.

The knife roll

The roll is vegetable tanned leather, cut as one long panel with stitched pockets, one pocket per knife, so each of the five has its own slot. It rolls up from one end and ties shut with its own leather strap, so the set travels as one bundle, not loose in a drawer. The face is hand tooled in basket weave inside a plain border, a square woven stamp struck row by row across the panel by hand. Most sets in this category come in a plain bag or nothing.

Who it suits

This is the set for a kitchen being fitted out, or one being replaced in one go. Between the five blades there is a knife for the board, a knife for bread, a knife for a roast and a knife for small work in the hand, and the burl and resin handles are why buyers choose it over the plainer sets.

• Home cooks replacing a whole drawer
• Buyers who want figured handles
• Wedding and anniversary gifts

What comes in the box

• Chef knife
• Bread knife
• Cleaver
• Carving knife
• Paring knife
• The tooled leather knife roll

Every piece is different

Each blade is forged, ground, heat treated and sharpened by hand, so runs stay small and no two sets finish alike. No two Damascus patterns repeat, and the burl decides its own figure, so the handles will not match the photographs.

Looking after it

Hand wash in warm water and dry straight away. Never leave one in the sink and never use a dishwasher. Damascus darkens with use, and that gray patina protects the steel. Oil the blades lightly with food safe mineral oil before storing. Sharpen on a stone following the bevel, except the bread knife, which takes a round rod in each scallop. More in our knife care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Engraving is an option rather than something included, and it is 35 dollars for the set, covering all five knives under one price. Around 30 characters fits on each blade, and clean line art engraves better than a photograph. We send a proof before the laser runs and it adds 3 to 5 business days. See the engraving page.

Questions buyers ask

How many knives are in the set? Five. Chef knife, bread knife, cleaver, carving knife and paring knife.

Is the leather roll included? Yes. It is vegetable tanned leather with a pocket per knife and ties shut with a strap.

Is engraving included? No. Engraving is 35 dollars for the set, added on this page, and it covers all five knives.

Will this steel rust? It can if left wet. Dry it after washing and oil it.

Why is the bread knife serrated? The teeth saw through crust without crushing what is under it.

Will my set look like the photo? No. The Damascus pattern and the burl figure differ on every set.

For three knives there is the Damascus kitchen set of 3 in olive wood, and the same five in plain carbon steel are the hand forged kitchen set of 5 in rosewood. More in kitchen knife sets, Damascus steel and kitchen knives.